Tack strip



Nov. 14, 1961 D. D. GOSS ETAL TACK STRIP Filed Nov. 16, 1960 INVENTORS. DONALD D. 6088 GLEN C. LIVEZEY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,008,173 TACK STRIP Donald D. Goss and Glen C. Livezey, Marblehead, Mass., assignors to Plymouth Cordage Industries, Inc., Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Nov. 16, 1960, Ser. No. 69,742 2 Claims. (CI. 16-16) This invention comprises a new and improved fastening device of tack strip type for fastening and stretching upholstery fabric in the manufacture or repair of furniture or securing a carpet or rug in place to cover the whole or part of a floor area.

-In one aspect the tack strip of the invention may be defined as a continuous flexible non-resilient metal strip longitudinally folded to present two flanges disposed at an angle, one flange being perforated for attachment in flat condition to an underlying support and the other flange having a series of sharp prongs extending outwardly or away from the perforated flange for engaging the inner face of the fabric or carpet and adapted to be flattened while engaging the fabric and thus stretching it.

It will be understood that in use the perforated flange is tacked to the floor or to the furniture frame with the pronged flange located so as to define the area to be covered. The fabric or carpet is then stretched smoothly over the upturned edge of the pronged flange and impaled on the sharp prongs. This flange may now be pounded down through the fabric and being bent to its flattened position the fabric is stretched across the tacked flange and securely fastened in stretched position.

An important and optional feature of the invention consists in partially dividing the merging flanges of the tack strip which are defined by a longitudinal fold vertex by oppositely directed notches that cross this vertex and form narrow elongated connecting tongues. A tack strip of this character may conveniently be conformed to either convex or concave curvature encountered in the underlying support as for example in the curved arms of large upholstered chairs. Preferably the notches will be V-shaped and then the flanges may be curved radially without pleating or overlapping while the elongated connecting tongues are easily flexed and maintain the continuity of the strip.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a straight length of the tack p.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are fragmentary views in cross section and on an enlarged scale showing respectively the tack strip in its initial attached condition and in its final fabric stretching position,

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of the tack strip in its notched form and,

FIG. 5 shows the same strip when conformed to a sinuous shape.

The fastening device as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 comprises a continuous strip of thin flexible non-resilient steel or other metal longitudinally bent or folded to form a vertex defining a flat flange having uniformly spaced tack perforations 11. This flange merges through an angle of about 110 into a flange 12 provided with sharp outwardly projecting prongs 13 arranged with uniform spacing and directed away from the perforated flange 10.

As shown in FIG. 2 the flange 10 may be secured in "ice flat position by tacks 14 to a floor or any underlying frame member. When the fastener is thus secured the flange 12 projects upwardly at an angle of substantially to the support with the prongs 13 projecting outwardly and downwardly. Having thus secured the fastener the fabric 15 is drawn smoothly over the upper edge of the flange 12 and impaled upon the prongs 13 which of course engage the inner surface of the fabric.

The operation may now be completed by pounding down the flange 12 into a horizontal position as shown in FIG. 3. In this bending movement of the flange 12 the fabric 15 will be drawn toward the right and stretched over the edge of the flange 12 and finally anchored in stretched position with its folded margin in contact with the underlying support.

It will be understood that when it is desired to make a butt or blind joint an edge of one piece of fabric may be secured beneath the perforated flange of the strip and then the mating edge of another piece of fabric secured to the pronged flange as already explained.

In the modified construction of FIGS. 4 and 5 the two divergent flanges 20 and 21 are partially divided by V-shaped notches 22 formed in the perforated flange 20 and notches 23 formed in the pronged flange 21. These notches are oppositely directed and both sets of notches extend across and beyond the fold vertex of the strip. They define between them elongated connecting tongues 24 which, of course, are readily flexed when it is desired to impart a curved or undulatory contour to the tack strip as suggested in FIG. 5. The tongues 24 preserve the continuity of the strip as a Whole while at the same time serving as points where the strip may be conveniently severed to provide short lengths thereof.

Having thus disclosed our invention and described in detail illustrative embodiments thereof, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A tack strip for fastening and stretching upholstery and carpet fabrics, comprising a serrated strip of flexible non-resilient sheet metal folded to present merging flanges defined by a longitudinal fold vertex and disposed at a pronounced angle to each other, one of the flanges being divided into sections each having a tack hole therein by spaced inwardly tapering notches that cross the fold vertex, and the other flange being divided by notches that also cross the fold vertex into sections having outwardly projecting prongs therein, each adjacent pair of notches forming between them an elongated connecting tongue having angularly disposed portions that lie on opposite sides of the fold vertex.

2. A tack strip for fastening and stretching upholstery and carpet fabrics, comprising a strip of flexible nonresilient sheet metal folded to present merging flanges defining a longitudinal fold vertex and disposed at an angle to each other, one of the flanges being divided into sections having tack holes therein by spaced inwardly tapering notches that intersect the fold vertex, and the other flange being divided by notches that also intersect the fold vertex into sections having projecting prongs therein, each adjacent pair of oppositely directed notches forming between them an elongated connecting tongue folded in line with the fold vertex of the flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,051,191 Watson Aug. 18, 1936 2,643,963 Iaasund June 30, 1953 2,733,475 McMeans Feb. 7, 1956 

